Carrot Coriander Soup

Ingredients:

Coriander Leaves : 4 tbsp

Carrot : 1/2 cup (Grated)+ A few cut thin slices

Pudina Leaves : 2 tbsp

Garlic : 4-5 pods finely chopped

Ginger : 1 inch finely chopped

Peppercorn : 2 tsp

Basil Leaves : 1 tsp (Chopped)

Thyme : 1 tsp (Chopped)

Rosemary : 1 tsp (Chopped)

Corn Flour : 1 tbsp mixed in 1/4 cup water

Spring Onion : 2 tbsp of thin slices

Lemon Juice : 1 tbsp to squeeze on the top at the end

Salt to Taste

Oil : 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. In a pan heat oil add chopped ginger and garlic and cook till the garlic turns slightly brown.

2. Add grated carrot and saute well. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves, basil, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns and add 2 cups of water and boil it.

3. Boil it so that the quantity is reduced by 1/4th. (Can avoid this step if using vegetable stock).

4. Now filter the water into another bowl and grind the rest of the mass.

5. Now heat the filtered water, add the corn flour paste and the grinded mass; along with chopped carrot slices and slices of the roots of the spring onion as well as salt.

6. Boil it till we get a thick quantity and finally squeeze the lemon juice on top; serve it hot.

Pepper Idli

I often try to make different recipes with leftover idli. And this time I wanted to spice it up to a notch. So tried this Pepper Idli. I remember eating this at some restaurant. You can actually even prepare this with fresh Idli's. But let the Idli's cool down a little.

Ingredients:
Smallor mini Idli's/ Idli cut into small Cubes : 8-10
Onion :1
Whole Pepper Corn : 1 tbsp
Fennel Seeds : 1 tsp
Oil : 1 tbsp
Garlic : 4-5 cloves
Curry Leaves : 5- 8 leaves
Coriander Leaves : 1 tbsp (Chopped leaves)

Procedure :
1. Dry Roast pepper corns and fennel seeds; once it cools down using a pestle and mortar powder it.
2. On the same tawa heat oil and temper with curry leaves and chopped garlic.
3. Add onions and cook till it turns slightly brown in color. Add salt too.
4. Now add the chopped idli and cook it for 2 minutes.
5. Once the idli's turn a little crispy add the coarse pepper and fennel powder.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Gobi Masala

This is a recipe that I adapted from Veg Recipes of India. It came out really good.

Ingredients :

Cauliflower : 1 medium Sized (Cut the florets into medium sized pieces)

Onion :1 (Finely chopped)

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 tbsp

Tomato : 2

Cashewnuts : 15 (Soak in hot water for 30 minutes)

Oil : 1 tbsp

Bay Leaf : 1

Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp

Yogurt/ Thick Curd : 1/2 cup

Kasuri Methi : 1 tbsp (Crush with your palms)

Fresh cream / Milk : 1/4 cup

Salt according to taste

Spice Powders :

Coriander Powder : 1.5 tsp

Chilli Powder : 1.5 tsp

Garam Masala : 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp

Procedure :

1. Boil the cauliflower florets in 3 cups of water for 15 to 20 minutes. On a non- stick deep bottomed tawa put the drained cauliflower florets and cook till it turns brown in color and keep them aside. This will take 10- 15 minutes. Cook them on a low flame.

2. In the same heat oil add bay leaf and cumin seeds and once they start sizzling add finely chopped onion and cook till they turn slightly brown in color.

3. Add ginger garlic paste. Make a paste of Tomato and cashew in a blender and add them into the tawa. 

4. Once the paste comes to a boil add all the spice powders. Once the oil starts floating on top add the whisked yogurt. 

5. Add around 1 cup water and let it come to a boil.

6. Finally add fresh cream, salt according to taste and crushed Kasuri Methi. (If adding milk add 1/2 cup of milk).

Quinoa Dosa

I mother in law makes this dosa but with little amount of rice in it. This is another riceless dosa.

Ingredients:
Urad Dal : 1 cup
Red Quinoa : 2 cups
Fenugreek Seeds : 1/2 tsp
Salt according to Taste
Oil : to sprinkle on the dosa

Procedure:
1. Soak the Urad dal along with fenugreek seeds and Raagi separately for 5-6 hours.
2. Grind them into a smooth paste using a mixer grinder and ferment for 4 to 5 hours. (Add salt before or after fermentation).
3. Using a ladle spread the batter on a tawa and pour 1/2 tsp oil on top of it.
4. When one side is cooked; flip and cook on the other side.
5. Serve with Sambhar/ Chutney.

Apricot Cookies (Eggless)

I had bought a lot of apricot's from Costco. I was hoping to make Khubani ka Meetha actually. But for making Khubani you need another kind of Apricot which are dark brown in color. Never the less the Khubani tasted more like Apricot halwa.

I came across this recipe in Sinfully Spicy Blog.

Ingredients :
Butter : 1/2 cup (Keep out the butter so that it is very soft)
Sugar : 1/2 cup
Cinnamon Powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt : 1/8 tsp
Chickpea Flour/ Besan : 2/3 cup
All Purpose Flour/ Maida : 1/4 cup
Dried Apricots : 1/2 cup (Chopped into pieces)
Slivered Almonds : for Garnishing (Optional)
Baking Soda : 1/8 tsp

Procedure :
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree faranheit.
2. Sift all purpose flour, Chickpea flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl whisk butter and sugar together (do not make it too fluffy).
4. Fold the sifted flour into butter and sugar mixture.
5. Divide the portion into gooseberry shaped balls and spread them on a cookie sheet.Garnish with silvered almonds if you prefer). Keep a little space between the cookies as it expands a little on cooking.
6. Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes till they become slightly brown in color.

Matar Paneer Biryani

This is a royal dish I would say. Paneer is something that if consumed once in a while makes us wanna drool all over it. I used to have paneer on a regular basis; as a result I simply lost interest in having paneer. Over time I started to cook it just once in a month; and each time I drool over the pieces of paneer which makes me enjoy my food. In this particular recipe I cooked the rice with a combination of milk and water. This recipe is full of fat.

Ingredients :

For Rice :
Basmati Rice : 1 cup (Wash and Soak it in water for 30 minutes)
Cloves : 3
Cardamom : 3
Bay Leaf : 1
Cinnamon : 2 (1" stick)
Milk : 3/4 cup
Water : 3/4 cup
Ghee : 1 tsp
Salt According to Taste

For the Paneer Layer :
Paneer : 1/2 cup (Cubes of Paneer)
Green Peas (Fresh or Frozen) : 1/4 cup
Onion : 1/2 cup (Finely chopped)
Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 tbsp
Tomato Puree : 1/2 cup
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1 tsp
Biryani Masala : 2 tsp ( I used Shaan Bombay Biryani Masala)
Pudina / Mint Leaves : 1/2 cup (Finely chopped)
Coriander Leaves : 1/2 cup (finely Chopped)
Salt according to Taste

For topping :
Onion : 1
Oil for Deep frying

Procedure :

For Rice :

1. Heat ghee in a cooker and add all the whole spices either in a cooker or tawa.
2. On a tawa and make sure to mix half of milk and half of water to cook the rice. But do not cook it completely. Only 80% of the rice should be cooked . Rest 20% can be cooked in microwave or in using "Dumm" style.
3. I cooked the rice in my rice cooker. Instead of adding 1:2 ratio reduced the quantity to 1:1.5. (Here 1.5 is a mixture of milk and water).
4. Once rice is cooked keep aside.


For Paneer Gravy :
1. In a tawa heat oil add onions and roast till it turns brown.
2. Add ginger garlic paste and add tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes or till it comes to a boil.
3. When you soak the rice marinate the paneer with chilli powder, garam masala, salt and biryani masala.
4. Add the marinated paneer in the boiling tomato puree. Also add chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves).
5. Add the green peas and cook for 2 minutes.

For Topping :
1. Cut the onions into thin slices and deep fry or in a microwave safe bowl add 1 tsp oil and a pinch of salt and microwave for 8 to 10 minutes. Keep checking every 2 minutes.

Layering the Biryani :
1. Grease the bowl if planning to bake it. If using dumm style lower the flame and cover the lid using chappati dough and cook for 10-15 minutes.
2. If using oven preheat for 350 degree Fahrenheit and cook for 15 minutes.
3. The bottom most later should be rice; topped with layer of paneer gravy and finally top with rice again and garnish with fried onions.

Brown Rice, Barley and Urad Dal Dosa

I have been trying to substitute for rice in Dosa's. I recently made Barley Dosa a few days back. So now I tried making brown rice dosa.

Ingredients :
Brown Rice : 1 cup
Barley : 1 cup
Urad Dal : 1 cup
Methi Seeds : 8 to 10 seeds
Salt according to Taste

Procedure :
1. Soak all the ingredients separately in water for 6 to 7 hours (Soak Urad dal and methi seeds together).
2. Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste and put it in a deep bottomed pan; add salt; and fermenr for 7 to 8 hours.
3. Using a ladle pour the batter on a tawa. Once that side is cooked flip the dosa and cook for 20 seconds or so.
4. Serve it hot with chutney or sambar.